HB 532: Criminal Justice Equity Act of 2021

• Expands Criminal Justice Fellows Program funding to all NC counties with $663,579 in recurring funds for fiscal year 2021-2022 to recruit and provide forgivable community college loans to in-state high school seniors and unemployed/underemployed graduates.

• Prohibits chokeholds and restricts neck restraints as deadly force, requires law enforcement officers to intervene and report excessive force without fear of retaliation, mandates minimum force usage and de-escalation tactics, and requires medical assistance and body-worn/dashboard cameras for state and local law enforcement.

• Requires State Bureau of Investigation to investigate officer-involved use of force incidents (including firearm discharges, deaths, sexual assault allegations, and custody deaths) within 24 hours and prosecute through special prosecutors, with penalties for agencies failing to report.

• Appropriates $8.4 million for drug treatment courts and mental health courts, $134,540 per fiscal year to each of two commissions for law enforcement accreditation program management, and $500,000 annually for violence prevention community grants.

• Establishes right to counsel for all felony and misdemeanor charges with $1.18 million annual funding, restricts license suspensions with automatic 12-month restoration, allows criminal defendants 20 days to request new court dates, and reforms jury selection to make juries more representative by publishing demographic data on jury pools.